Woman, sheriff claim 'blue wall' in custody case

Daniel Tepfer

Updated 12:16 am, Tuesday, March 12, 2013

Brittany Finley displays a photo of her 2-year old son, John-Michael DeVone Jr., in Bridgeport, Conn. March 11th, 2013. Finley lives in Marietta, Ga., and has traveled to Connecticut to fight for custody of her son from her ex-husband.
Photo: Ned Gerard

Brittany Finley and her 2-year old son, John-Michael DeVone Jr. Finley lives in Marietta, Ga., and has traveled to Connecticut to fight for custody of her son from her ex-husband.
Photo: Contributed Photo

BRIDGEPORT -- A Georgia woman says she has run up against a blue wall in an effort to get her 2-year-old son back after his father refused to return the child to her after a three-week visit last summer.

Brittany Finley has three separate court orders from Georgia and Connecticut, plus an arrest warrant for the father, giving her custody of her son, John-Michael. However, she says Bridgeport Police are stopping her because the boy's grandfather is a sergeant in the Police Department's Detective Bureau.

A Bridgeport sheriff supports her claim.

"They are blocking me from getting the child because it involves one of their own," said City Sheriff David Goodman, who has been appointed by state Superior Court to get the child for his mother. "I'm trying to do my job, but the police won't let me."

Goodman said on Feb. 26 the Police Department sent six officers with him to get the child at the home of the boy's grandfather, Sgt. John Devone.

"But as we were walking to the door, they got a call to stand down and they wouldn't go any further," Goodman said. He said he has no authority to go into a home to get a child.

Police Chief Joseph L. Gaudett Jr., however, denied that officers are hindering the return of the child to his mother.

"The parties involved used the legal remedies available to them," Gaudett said. "They were unsuccessful. Since then, the department has done its due diligence in attempting to locate the child."

The department in no way attempted to obstruct the mother's efforts and, in fact, arrested the father of the child on Feb. 7 on an extradition warrant from Georgia, Gaudett said.

"We treated this case just as we would any civil case," he said.

Connecticut legal aid lawyer Maria Varone, who is helping Finley, said she has handled numerous custody cases, but this one is unusual.

"Typically, the police help out with a custody order and we tell people that if somebody violates a custody order, they should go to the police," she said. "We have a valid court order by two courts directing law enforcement to get involved, but we have gotten no cooperation from the Bridgeport police."

Finley, a pastry chef for a Georgia supermarket chain, was previously awarded sole custody of her son over the boy's father, John M. Devone.

In August, according to court documents, Devone, who was living in Bridgeport at the home of his father, the police sergeant, was granted a three-week visit with the child at the Bridgeport home.

But after the visit was up, court papers state that Devone refused to return the child to Finley.

In January, she was finally able to secure the funds to travel to Bridgeport, but when she got here, Devone refused to return the child to her.

Court documents state she was verbally promised assistance from Bridgeport police, but once in the city, they refused to help her because they would not honor the court orders from Georgia.

Finley returned home and contacted the Marietta Police Department, which, after investigating her claims and trying unsuccessfully to negotiate the child's return from Sgt. Devone, secured a warrant for John M. Devone's arrest for interference with custody, court papers state.

The father subsequently surrendered on the warrant and was released on bond. An extradition hearing was postponed because of the snowstorm.

Last Friday, Superior Court Judge Howard Owens rejected a request from Devone's lawyer to overrule the Georgia orders and instead ordered the child to be returned to his mother.

"He (Devone) has engaged in unjustifiable conduct by unlawfully withholding the minor child from his mother," the judge stated.

"I'm done crying about this and I don't intend to return home without my son," she said.

Finley said the first time she came to Bridgeport in January, she was assured by officers she spoke with on the phone that they would help.

"But once I got to the Police Department, they made me wait 2½ hours before telling me they couldn't help me because I didn't have a valid court order," she said. "I have gone every correct route and gotten nowhere."

Meanwhile, Goodman, who said this is the most frustrating case he has ever handled, is ready to take matters into his own hands.

"I will be sitting on that house, and if I see that child, I'm going to get him, whether the police help me or not," he vowed.